The VIII edition of Indagare, organised by ASIBI and hosted by St PETER’S SCHOOL, brought together Diploma Programme students from across the peninsula to share their Extended Essays. These research projects have kept them busy for more than a year. Over the weekend, they presented their work in front of panels and peers, offering a clear demonstration of the intellectual strength of today’s young people: their ability to think, compare, collaborate and generate meaningful solutions.
In an era marked by post-truth, polarisation and digital saturation, Indagare showed a generation of “resolute students”, far from a “diminished subject”. Their actions echoed exactly what those thinkers call for: presence, reflection and meaningful dialogue.
The students:
- chose topics based on genuine affinities (Goethe)
- thought independently (Kant)
- distinguished facts from opinions (Arendt)
- investigated through evidence and method (IB)
- collaborated as a scholarly community (ASIBI)
- and expanded our collective capacity for critical thought
Their projects made this visible.
Emma investigated whether a CubeSat could measure variations in UV radiation to estimate the thickness of the ozone layer, demonstrating the potential of educational technology for environmental research.
Valentina, whose work was highlighted by the jury and linked to the goals of the 2030 Agenda, examined how variations in phenoxyethanol and pH affect the balance between S. epidermidis and S. aureus, offering rigorous insight into skin microbiota health and responsible cosmetic formulation.
Both projects exemplify what happens when students do more than study the world: they question it and produce knowledge that matters.
Thinking clearly in times of uncertainty
The event opened with the talk “Lux: From Plato to Rosalia. Contemporary Enlightenment,” delivered by philosophy teacher Josep Soler. Drawing on the allegory of the cave, Soler reminded us of the enduring need to distinguish between shadow and reality. Rosalia served as a contemporary bridge for exploring identity, critical awareness and authenticity.
His idea of a contemporary Enlightenment looked not backward but toward the urgent need for clarity today, in an environment where information circulates without filters and speed often replaces depth. Soler spoke of elective affinities, invoking Goethe; he then moved to freedom and intellectual adulthood, drawing on Kant; and he referenced Hannah Arendt when reflecting on the erosion of truth in our times.
After the talk, students took part in a SWOT workshop to analyse the present: the strengths of our society, its cultural vulnerabilities, emerging opportunities and the threats posed by technology, education and our changing social fabric.
A holistic approach to culture, a space for solutions
Beyond the content of each Extended Essay, Indagare reminded us that culture can be understood as a set of solutions a community constructs to face the challenges of its time.
This idea, present in the work of thinkers such as José Antonio Marina, becomes tangible when observing how students work: each project is, in its own way, a response to a real-world problem.
Instead of the exhaustion, fragmentation or delegation of thought that concerns so many contemporary theorists, what emerged at Indagare was the opposite: young people who are active, rigorous, capable of sustaining arguments and building knowledge.
Indagare became a laboratory where intellectual autonomy is practised and strengthened: a space to formulate questions, seek facts, think collaboratively, and construct informed solutions.
Arendt and the defence of factual truth
In this context, Hannah Arendt’s reflections are especially relevant. In Truth and Politics (1967), Arendt differentiates between factual truth and opinion, warning that societies that blur this distinction lose their ability to orient themselves.
Her diagnosis resonates strongly in an age when virality often outweighs veracity, and when certain political discourses show how emotion can displace fact.
In contrast, the students at Indagare did exactly what Arendt saw as the foundation of civic responsibility: they sought evidence, interpreted it rigorously, and defended well-founded conclusions.
ASIBI and St PETER’S SCHOOL: an ecosystem of collaboration
The ASIBI network, composed of IB schools across the peninsula, made this gathering possible: a space of exchange, listening and collective construction in which students learn as much as they teach.
As an active member, St PETER’S SCHOOL reaffirms a fundamental principle in a time of digital acceleration: artificial intelligence can assist, accelerate and support, but lucidity remains a human task.
AI helps us research; purpose, judgment and ethics belong to people.
5. Conclusion: a horizon of solutions
Indagare confirmed that clarity is not a luxury but a capacity that can be cultivated.
That intellectual adulthood remains alive.
That young people can distinguish facts from opinions.
That collaboration amplifies intelligence.
And that students like Emma and Valentina are already generating valuable responses to questions that matter.
We may not be able to solve every contemporary challenge.
But we can accompany those who face them with rigour, creativity and responsibility. And that, without a doubt, is extraordinary news.
*This article has been written by Carme Escorcia, with the support of ChatGPT.
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